Cotton cleaner



April w, w37. 'WM ARRET j 2,076,983

COTTON CLEANER FORlKEivM-MA'TTIER pil 13, 1937. w. M. GARRETT COTTON CLEANER Filed March 24, 193,6

v2 Sheets-Sheet 2 @www 'l Patented vApr. 13, 1937 UNITEDl STATES laminar ol-Fica i,

This invention relates to? improvements in cotton cleaners, and its objects are as follows:

` First, to provide an apparatus for removing dirt, sand, trash and other foreign matter from cotton and other material which can be handled in a manner similar to that herein contemplated,

, without the requirement of any moving part in the cleaner itself, thereby to avoid the possibility of a fire from sparking.

Second, to provide an apparatus for unloading` cotton and the like or for removing cotton from one place ofstorage to another, and at the same time cleaning it of foreign matter. f

Third, to provide a cotton cleaner which loperates on the principle of cyclonic motion, the stream of air when whirling through the cleaner at a high rate of speed throwing the cotton against a screen which holds the cotton back and lets the foreign matter go through by centrifugal V force, theclean cotton passing from the cleaner through one channel and the foreign matter through another.

Fourth, to provide an apparatus having the characteristics outlined above which is capable of use for cleaning seeds, grain and the like.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the following specification reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the apparatus, illustrating the cotton cleaner combined with a blower;

Figure 2 isa horizontal section taken on `the line 2`2 of Fig. 1; Figure 3 is a vertical section taken on the` 3 line 3-3 of Fig. 2. l

In carrying out the invention provision is made of a pipe I which is the suction or supply pipe in that it reaches to the place whence the cotton 2 is to be unloaded. This pipe is preferably telescopic and it has a flexible joint 3 which maintains the necessary seal as the two sections of the pipe are moved with reference to each other. `This supply pipe leads to the center in- 4 let 4 of a suction fan or blower 5, the impeller of which (not shown) is appropriately screened ,so that the cotton will not entangle it. The outlet 6 of the blower has a pipe connection 1 with the inlet 8 of the cotton cleaner generally 5 0 designated 9.

While the device 9 is here designated a cotton cleaner Yit is also an unloader, and, as already brought out above, itis one of the principles of theinvention to clean the cotton simultaneously with the lact of unloading or with transporting.

it from yone place toanother through the instrumentality of the cleaner apparatus. The inlet 8 is disposed tangentially with respect to the substantial upper end of the outer casing of the cleaner 9. p 5 The outer casing is preserved in its identity as such for only part of the circumference (Fig. 2) approximately of it being cut away at short distances Il, I2, from the bottom and top (Fig. 3) to provide an opening I3. The opening is filled 10 with a semi-circular screen I4 which completes the shape of what would otherwise be a perfectly cylindrical casing. The portions marked II and I2 (Fig. 3) previously designated short distances, are continuous parts of the casing I0, and a sectionI through each oi' them would show a perfect circ e.

A wall I5 of helical form as far as it goes, confronts the screen I4, beginning substantially at the cotton inlet 8 and ending at thetrash outlet 20 I6. This wall has a bottom and top I1, I8 which together with the wall provides a cover or en closure dening a trash passage I9. The wall I5 has one or more hand holes 20 with appropriately secured removable covers 2| for the inspection of the interior.

Ihe trash outlet I 6 is connected with a discharge pipe 22 (Fig. 1). This pipe is made in any preferred way,being constructed as long as necessary to direct the foreign matter to the desired place of discharge. An inner housing 23 is made pendent from the roof 24 of the cleaner. It is fixedly heldin concentric relationship to the casing III and its screen I4 to provide a space 25 into which the cotton is discharged, and which is traversed by the cotton with a cyclonic mc; tion indicated by the spiral arrow 26 (Fig. 3).

The housing 23 ends substantially ush with the bottom of the screen I4. The lower end of this 40 housing is open, as shown, and its upper end communicates with the hooded outlet 21 in the roof 24 through which outlet dust arising from the cleaning operation passes to the outer atmosphere (arrows a, Fig. 1) 45 l Bolted flanges 28, 29 respectively on the portion I I and on the discharge funnel 30 secure the latter to the outer casing Il). It is into and through this funnel that the clean cotton is discharged (arrows b, Fig. 2) to the point of disposal. 'I'his 50 point may comprise a wagon, or the funnel may be piped up to a place of storage.

The operation is readily understood. 'I'he cotton 2 (Fig. 1) together with all of the foreign matter that usually accompanies it, enters the supply 55 pipe I by virtue of the suction set up at the center inlet 4 by the operation of theA impeller in the blower 5. From the latter it is blown to the top of the outer casing I0 through which it takes the 5 spiral passage (arrow 26, Fig. 3) previously mentioned.

This spiral passage or cyclonic motion, as it has been called, is the result of the high rate at which the cotton is blown in plus the gravitational l0 force that moves the cotton toward the bottom of the casing. As the cotton is swept against the screen I4 the foreign matter passes through (arrows c, Fig. 2) while the clean cotton goes down` 'Ihe foreign matter that enters the passage i9 is 15 discharged through the pipe 22. The lighter dust which is given oi on the inside escapes at the outlet 21.

From what has been stated it is clear that the cleaning operation is performed without the use 20 of any moving part excepting the impeller in the blower casing 5. As already stated, this impeller is screened so that none of the cotton will come in contact with it, but regardless of the screen there is nothing in the blower that can strike ilre and since there is nothing of that nature in the cleaner 9 itself it follows that the ilre hazard in the handling of cotton for moving and storing is reduced to a minimum.

I claim:

A cotton cleaner, comprising an outer casing having an opening, a semi-circular screen iltted in said opening to complete said casing, a cotton inlet at the substantial top o1 the outer casing and disposed tangentially with respect thereto, a covering wall confronting the screen defining part oi' a helix which begins substantially at the inlet, bottom and top portions between said wall and the outer casing dening a trash passage, said passage merging into a trash outlet, a roof for the outer casing having a hooded dust outlet, an inner casing pendent from the root and concentric with the outer casing to denne a space for the circulation of cotton, and a discharge funnel pendent from the outer casing and in direct communication with said space.

WILBUR M. GARRE'IT. 

